


Unexpected Joys

by Dewsparkle



Series: Little Stories of the Avenging Kind [15]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, OC Baby - Freeform, Pregnancy, domestic-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 21:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14197596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dewsparkle/pseuds/Dewsparkle
Summary: Pepper has some big news to tell Tony, buts she's not sure how well he's going to take it.





	Unexpected Joys

**Author's Note:**

> Don't get me wrong, I love Pepper and Tony, but they're not my favorite ship, this was just a little thing I wrote because I saw a thing a while ago that got me thinking "what if..."
> 
> Also, as an apology for my long absence here's another little fic. Plz forgive? ^-^'

“Tony, I’m pregnant.”

Tony freezes in place as he slowly turns to look at her, his smile slipping off his face as he stares at Pepper in shock. She looks nervous, and its so unlike her that it makes what she’s just told him seem even more unreal.

“What?” He manages to choke out, still numb with shock. He feels his hands falling limply to his sides away from the holoscreen he’d been doing actual SI work on before Pepper dropped this bombshell on him, but he’s not even sure why he notices this. She takes a shaking breath and looks him in the eye.

“I’m pregnant.” She repeats, more firmly than before, though distantly Tony can see she’s still nervous and right now he can’t figure out why.

“P-pregnant?” He echoes, still staring at her with wide eyes. He’s not sure what expression is on his face right now, but it doesn’t seem to make Pepper feel any better from the looks of it. Though, Tony’s not sure he’s the best judge of anything right now.

Tony stares at her, the beautiful woman that he loves with all his broken heart. Her pale ginger hair is tied up in a loose pony tail and she’s wearing casual clothes. Comfortable clothes. The kind she wears when they snuggle up on the couch to watch a movie, or when she’s leaning against him reading one of her vomit-inducing romance novels while he works on projects.

Apparently not liking his continued silence, Pepper seems to collect herself and her expression closes off slightly, more business-like, and Tony feels a pang of hurt in his chest because he can’t understand why she’s got that expression directed at him. He’s still in some state of shock, still feeling rather detached from his body, and is still trying to process through a mind that hasn’t slept in the past… two days? Three? His last coffee was hours ago because he’d forgotten to make more. He really wished he had some right now to clear his scattered brain and help get him up to speed as to exactly what was happening in real time.

“I’ve known for over a week, so I’m about seven weeks along.” She briefly touches her stomach before dropping her hand and looking back up at him. “I’m keeping it, and I know it’s not something you wanted or-“

It’s in that moment, for some reason that everything suddenly clicks in Tony’s overworked brain, and he cuts her off. “You’re pregnant!”

His voice is slightly shrill and he feels his eyes widen further as he stares at Pepper. She frowns at him. “Yes, and I understand if you don’t-“ She shrieks in surprise and grips his shoulders tightly on relfex as she’s suddenly lifted from the ground and spun in a circle by two strong arms hugging her waist.

“You’re pregnant!” Tony exclaims again, a grin spreading widely across his face as he beams at Pepper. Then his face goes slightly pale and he hastens to put her down. “Shit, you’re pregnant! Sorry!”

Without her heels, Pepper is only slightly taller than him, but he doesn’t care. He beams at her then hovers his hands around her stomach, not really sure what to do with himself. He touches briefly before pulling away quickly, as if the featherlight touch might have hurt her or the developing fetus in some way.

His giddiness is infectious and Pepper finds herself relaxing. “You’re not upset?” She asks, just to be sure. This was not the reaction she’d been expecting at all.

He widens his eyes at her further, if that’s even possible, and shakes his head vigorously. “Upset? No! How could I be? I’m going to be a dad!” He laughs and spins her again, before he realizes what he’s doing and quickly sets her down again. “Shit, sorry, pregnant, can’t do that.”

He runs his hands through his hair and grips it tight. “I’m gonna be a dad!” Then his face pales rather alarmingly. “I’m gonna be a dad.” He breathes out, sort of whimpers really, and then Tony just drops to the floor hard on his ass and starts pulling and tugging painfully at his hair, rocking back and forth with distress.

The sudden one-eighty from giddy excitement to this makes her blink, but she’s quick to sit herself beside her boyfriend and lean against his side with a hand on his knee and the other rubbing calming circles into his back.

“I can’t be a dad!” His breathing becomes rough and fast. “I-I’ll fuck it up and then you’ll hate me and the kid’ll hate me and- and I don’t want to fuck it up like everything else.” He whimpers and buries his face in her shoulder and gripping her arm like his life depends on it. She almost doesn’t hear when he whispers, “I don’t want to become _him_.”

Pepper sighs into his hair and kisses him firmly on the head, pulling him as close as she can with what their position will allow.

“You won’t become him, Tony. You’ll be a great dad. I’m not saying you wont mess up, there’s no such thing as the perfect parent, but I know you’ll do great.” She kisses him and increases the pace of her back rubbing. “And this baby? They’ll love you. I know it was unexpected, but it’s a good thing. I’m so happy you want to have this baby with me.”

“I do, Pep, I really do.” His voice is strained, like he’s trying to hold in tears, but Pepper doesn’t say anything and for that he’s grateful.

\----------

Months later, born naturally two weeks premature, little Gabriel Edwin Stark is enters the world with a tuft of auburn hair upon his little head and wide brown eyes that for now lack the ability to focus. His skin tone and facial structure resembles his fathers, but he got Peppers nose and her long fingers, and by the sound of it, her lungs too, not that Tony would ever admit that one out loud.

The little family could never have been happier, finally allowed a bit of unexpected joy in their screwed-up lives.


End file.
